Paulina,

I just wanted to tell you that you set us up with the most fantastic trip I could imagine to the Galapagos.

I was a little afraid because I had built up in my mind that the trip was going to be just the best but I was afraid I would be disappointed.

That did not happen!!

The Diamant was beautiful, the crew was the most friendly and caring, and our tour guide (Desiree) was so knowledgeable and helpful.

The trip exceeded my expectations!!!

Thank you so much for your part in helping to make a long-time dream come true.

Abrazos muy fuertes a ti!

Cindy Cookinham

Dear Adriana and Paulina, We have arrived home. Thanks for making this the trip of a lifetime for the children. They enjoyed it so much and we appreciate all your effort. Dave and I also enjoyed the tours you put together for us and the excellence of the staff you provided.

Barbara

Laura and Lucero,
We had a truly fantastic time in the Galapagos. Many thanks to you and Lucero for finding us the Beagle, and for helping us get to Isabela at the end of the cruise. We understand that you both spent a lot of time working on our trip and we really appreciate it. Here are a few points of feedback on Puerto Ayora, The Beagle, and Isabela, which will hopefully be helpful to you for future passengers.

PUERTO AYORA Overally, we enjoyed our time in Puerto Ayora. Following Lucero's recommendations, we visited Tortuga Bay Tuesday afternoon and really enjoyed that. We brought snorkeling gear, but the visibility was terrible so we spent most of our time walking around on the lava rocks near the beach where there were lots of iguanas, crabs, and some blue-footed boobies.

On Wednesday we went diving in Academy Bay. The only other group going diving that day was going to Gordon Rocks, and we are not advanced enough to go there. Wednesday we took a water taxi across to Playa de los Allemanas and Las Grietas, which was fun but not terribly impressive.

We stayed in Puerto Ayora at Lirio del Mar, which we found on our own. It was inexpensive but not very nice, I wouldn't recommend it. We ate at several restaurants on the street with lots of kiosks, including Tropicana and Familiar William's which were both very good.

THE BEAGLE The Beagle is a beautiful boat, very well-maintained, with excellent service. The food was good and they made special items when necessary to accommodate Barrons food allergies. Our cabin was lovely and comfortable, the staff professional and helpful, and our guide Camilo was warm and knowledgeable (it was his first time on the Beagle).

The Beagle had good snorkeling equipment (mask, fins, wetsuits) available at no cost to the passengers.

The itinerary for the second half of the cruise was: Here is what we actually did: Friday -- Charles Darwin Research Station and highlands Saturday -- Floreana Sunday -- Santiago and Bartolome Monday -- Genovesa Tuesday -- 6:00 a.m. panga tour around lagoon at Tortuga Negra, then to Baltra by 9:00 a.m.

We really liked this itinerary and felt that we saw a nice variety of Things.

They have a lovely brochure (titled "Islands of Fire: The Beagle") with great pictures and detailed boat info, you might want to request a copy to show future customers.

ISABELA We * loved * our time on Isabela. Thank you for coordinating with the Archipel to split the cost of the flight, and thanks to Lucero for all the great ideas for activities. The flight itself was lovely, it was wonderful to see the islands from above.

We had pre-paid for a hotel called Las Flamencas to make sure we had something reserved. This turned out to be a mistake -- there were flies in the room, no hot water, and the location was not attractive. We were not able to get our money back from the hotel owner, but we decided to stay elsewhere anyway. We stayed at Ballena Azul which was excellent, $24/night for a private double room with hot water near the beach, and the staff was friendly and helpful. Apparently Lucero had suggested this hotel to us, but I got confused and thought she was talking about the more expensive La Casa Marita (if we had known it was only $4 more per night than Las Flamencas we definitely would have chosen Ballena Azul)! In any case, we really enjoyed it and were glad to have made the switch.

The activity coordinator at Casa Marita was really helpful, and even though we weren't staying there she included us and organized two days of trips for us, along with other hotel guests. We went to the volcanoes Sierra Negra and Chico, and really enjoyed it, it was beautiful and unusual scenery. We chose not to ride horses, and the hike was long but fine. Unfortunately we were put together with a very large group, most of whom were riding horses, and walking right alongside them was sometimes difficult.

The next day we went to Cabo Rosa, and it was * FANTASTIC * , perhaps the best thing about our entire trip to Ecuador. La Casa Marita helped us find a boat captain who was willing to take us (group of 7 people). As a group, we paid a total of $250 for the boat and English-speaking guide. It was a 1.5 hour, very choppy ride to get there and he had to navigate the surf and dangerous lava rocks on the way in, but he did so beautifully. Cabo Rosa was the most stunning and strange landscape we saw in the Galapagos: lagoons with really clear water, lava bridges, collapsed lava tunnels, and lots of cacti. Just walking around, we saw a penguin and turtles swimming in the lagoons. While snorkeling we swam with a sea lion and several huge sea turtles, the other people also saw eagle rays.

I think that's it. Please let me know if you have additional questions, and thanks again.

Katherine Henderson

 

      

Lucero
Having just returned from our holiday in Quito and the Galapogos Islands we would like to express our thanks at the excellent service we received from your company.
From being met at Quito airport on 18th Dec (even though the flight was 7 hours late!) everything ran so smoothly.We had a fantastic experience and this was in no small way because of you excellent efforts.
We shall have no hesitation in recommending you to our many 'globe trotting' friends.Once again thank you and we wish you a happy and prosperous 2006.

Colin and Sandra Wild

Hallo Frau Olga,
Hallo Herr Müller,
Wir sind wieder in Deutschland und gewöhnen uns wieder an das normale Leben.
Der Urlaub und die Galapagos- Kreuzfahrt haben uns sehr gefallen.
Die "Seaman" ist ein schönes Schiff und die Mannschaft hat sich viel Mühe
gegeben uns zu verwöhnen.
Und die Inseln und die Flora und Fauna dort sind einfach atemberaubend. Wir
hatten noch nie so viel und so engen Kontakt mit wilden Tieren wie auf
Galapagos.

Schöne Grüße
Kasia & Gregor

"Hello, Laura, Well, we are back, and had a wonderful time! Everything went
without a single problem! We were met everywhere we went, and everything
happened in a timely manner and was what we expected. The boat, Archipel, is
wonderful and quite comfortable and spacious. It was very easy for my mom to
manage, and the crew went out of their way to make her safe and comfortable.
We saw all the things we hadn't seen before; hawks and penguins, manta rays
and eagle rays and white-tipped sharks. The diving worked out great, and was
very easy on this boat. They coordinated it very well, and even with the
diving, we really didn't miss much of anything. We did the horseback riding
in Isabella, and also did riding on that last day on Santa Cruz , and it was
so fun! We rode past dozens of tortoises in the wild! Casa de Marita was
relaxed and beautiful, and everything was very well arranged.Our time with
Maria and Luis at Hotel Fernandina was like a reunion. They are upgrading
their hotel, adding new rooms on a second.

Send from LauraMontero
Latin Discover

Hi Adriana
Thanks a lot for everything, the whole trip was absolutely amazing. The switch to the NEMO was actually a bit of a lucky break for me. The Archipel has Dive master but no Instructors. On the NEMO, they have an Instructor, though, and I was able to get two new SCUBA certifications while I was there. Thanks again for all your help. I can't wait to come back to Galapagos! :)

Sean Cusa
USA .

 

Galacruises in the Galapagos - Travelers' Intercom - travel, personal narrative - Brief Article, June 2002.

Lillie Echev Arria !
I took a fabulous d-day/7-night cruise to the Galapagos Islands in January '01 for the bargain price of $780 per person. The trip was on a 70-foot yacht, and I was able to book it online; it included all meals, naturalist guide, snorkeling and kayaking. Scuba was extra.
For the price, we also had a choice of one night at a hotel in Quito or a tour to Otavalo, hiking at a volcano (we chose this option) or horseback riding along a volcano road in the Andes.
Lucero, from Galacruises (Jorge Washington 748, Quito , Ecuador ; phone O11'-593-2-224893, ext.2; e-mail seaman@uio.satnet.net, or visit www.galapagosseaman.com .ec/seaman.htm), managed all our arrangements without a problem.
Our yacht was comfortable, even though there was no hot water (with the 100-degree weather, this was very manageable). The cabins, were small, as expected, and the air-conditioning hiccuped a few times.
The food was plentiful and varied: fruits, vegetables, meat and seafood.
The service was very good and the crew friendly.
Our guide was knowledgeable about the islands and their flora and fauna, and the pace was easy. We visited many islands, seeing the differences in ecological zones. Dolphins followed us, and sea lions played with us while snorkeling.
A typical day included a hearty breakfast followed by a hike or walk on an island for approximately two hours, then it was back to the boat for snorkeling, swimming or scuba diving. After lunch it was time for a, nap or tanning on deck, then another hike or walk to another part of the island or a different island. Following dinner we had a preview of the next day's activities. Going over the itinerary each night was helpful, as we then knew what to wear (wet or dry landing), how much water to carry and how much film to take.
I sincerely recommend this travel agency and yacht for anyone interested in traveling to the Gakipagos.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Martin Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group